Liverpool without Luis Suarez, the day Brendan Rodgers dreaded

Brendan Rodgers knew this day would come. And I can guarantee Liverpool’s
manager wasn’t looking forward to it one bit. No Luis Suárez for Sunday’s
game at West Ham. That creates quite a problem when you’ve only got one
striker, when, in an attacking sense, Suárez has virtually carried the team
on his own up until now.

Makeshift: Liverpool's Jonjo Shelvey will be asked to lead the attack against West HamPhoto: AP

Not this time, though. Suárez is suspended, forcing Rodgers into a change that won’t be ideal. A bit of creative thinking is required to try and cover for the missing star.

The answer, it seems, is to put Jonjo Shelvey through the middle in the way that Rodgers did against BSC Young Boys in the Europa League.

Shelvey came off the bench to score a couple that night, a cameo performance that has earned him this chance. Yet playing from the start against a Premier League team is bound to be harder, so the makeshift forward must know what he’s doing, or else the tactic could fall flat on its face.

To succeed, then, Shelvey might be told to drop off the front line when Liverpool get the ball in decent areas. The idea here is, firstly, to give one of the centre-halves something to think about. Does Winston Reid, for instance, follow Shelvey in to stop the player from receiving the ball and turning? Or does Reid stand his ground to maintain the back four’s shape?

In fairness, you could understand if Reid opted for the latter. The threat, after all, should be coming from the flanks in the form of Raheem Sterling darting inside. Because even if Reid steps just a few yards forward in response to Shelvey’s movement, a chink of daylight might open up to Joey O’Brien’s right, daylight that, with Steven Gerrard about, the speedy Sterling could benefit from.

So maybe this will be Liverpool’s game plan - asking Shelvey to perform the ‘false No 9’ role by getting him to drift into deeper areas in the hope he can create space for team-mates more capable of stretching defenders.

After all, asking a midfielder to play with his back to goal against a couple of tough nuts like James Collins and Reid would be unrealistic. To have an impact, Shelvey must play with his brain rather than brawn.

West Ham, on the other hand, will understandably try to physically impose themselves on Liverpool, just like they did against Chelsea last week. That involves quickly getting the ball wide to Matt Jarvis and Matty Taylor who will try and deliver early into the box.

Waiting in the middle will be Carlton Cole, deputising for the injured Andy Carroll over the next couple of months. And if he plays anything like he did against Chelsea, Cole can give Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger a pretty tough test.

Adding to the muscle mix is Mohamed Diamé, a beast of a midfielder who turned the game West Ham’s way in the second half last week. What a free transfer this lad has proved. With his ability to carry the ball forward, with his strength in the tackle, Diamé could conceivably overpower Lucas and Joe Allen. And those two must watch out when West Ham surge forward because Diamé likes to hang back when the ball flies into the box in the hope of finding room 20 yards out. Should the ball bounce his way, he hits it pretty hard.

Another well-known ploy used by Sam Allardyce is getting Kevin Nolan to stand in front of the goalkeeper at corners to prevent him from coming off his line to catch or punch. At the same time, the West Ham centre-halves will be timing their runs to try and get on the end of the in-swinging cross.

It’s a simple enough tactic dependent on delivery and the desire of the West Ham boys. Executed properly, it gives any team problems.

And Liverpool don’t need any more of those. Three points behind Sunday's opponents, they must be going into this game feeling apprehensive, a little unsure how things will pan out.

No Suárez could be interpreted as no hope, so central is the Uruguayan to their attacking threat. Anything gleaned from Upton Park must therefore be regarded as something of a bonus - a reality Liverpool fans will find hard to accept.